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Checkerboard
'"Checkerboard" '''is the fourteenth episode of ''Insinuation, the eighth season, and the 155th episode overall. It was narrated by Mets, premiering on April 28, 2015. In the episode, Landon and Sabrina team up with Austin and Bryce to officially determine Sawyer Gulch's Killer. The Episode SHERIFF'S HOUSE Silas screamed himself awake. Sweating in his bed, he closed his eyes to shut out the nightmare. He wiped away his tears. Waking up. Alone again. Two days ago, his wife was murdered in his own house. But by whom? Silas slid out of bed, avoiding glancing at where his wife was found. Where Isobel had breathed for the last time. Screamed for the last time. Lived for the last time. Natalie was in her room, brushing her hair. Silas sat behind her. "Let Cecil work today," Natalie said. "No," Silas said firmly, "I have to find who did this to Mom." "Why you?" Natalie said, looking at her father in the mirror, "Why not Cecil?" "Cecil doesn't know this town," Silas said. "Then why did you call him?" Natalie retorted. Silas stared at his daughter's back. "Because I can't do this alone," he said. Natalie turned around. "I'm here, Dad." Silas got up and hugged his daughter. Natalie squeezed him. The front door opened and closed downstairs. Silas heard footsteps run up the stairs. Oliver Winthrop skidded into the doorway. "Sir!" he exclaimed, "Atticus Kelly was killed in his cell last night." Silas jumped to his feet. He grabbed a water glass from Natalie's night stand and threw it to the ground. The glass shattered across the floor. "DAD!" Natalie shrieked. "FOR THE LOVE OF SANITY!" Silas exclaimed, "How many people are going to die this week?" "Dad," Natalie said, "Dad, just think. Is there a pattern?" "I'm going to find out," Silas said. He pushed past the Deputy and strode into the hall. LANDON'S APARTMENT Austin was pulling at his thumbs on the couch. Sabrina and Landon sat opposite him, trying to figure out how best to formulate their first question. It wasn't that they necessarily suspected Katherine Devereaux of being the Killer, but if the pendant was indeed in her belongings, then she could be the woman who killed Isobel and Jet. But it was best to consult Austin first. "Does Katherine have a violent past?" Landon asked. Austin shook his head. "No. She's a peacekeeper." Sabrina nodded. "Has Katherine ever visited Sawyer Gulch?" "No..." Austin said, "We only saw pictures of the place before we bought it. We couldn't organize travel the weekend we were looking." "Does Katherine own this pendant?" Landon asked, showing Austin the drawing of the silver pendant. Austin scrunched his face in confusion. "Ew, no. She'd never wear something so gaudy." Landon sighed. "Has Katherine ever met the Sterling family before moving here?" Sabrina asked. Austin stared. "Is she a suspect?" "Everyone is a suspect," Landon said. "No," Austin said, "I'm serious. Is she a significant suspect? Have the police been asking about her?" "Sorry," Sabrina said, "We just wanted to rule her out. Ophelia gave us her computer password. We're going to her office to see if she has any information we could use to help with the investigation." "We need to find a pattern," Landon said. "I'm going with you," Austin declared. OPHELIA'S OFFICE When Landon, Austin, and Sabrina pushed open the door to Ophelia's office, they were shocked to find the Sheriff sitting at her desk. He had his hands clasped in front of him. "Where is she?" he asked. The three stopped in the doorway. "Um," Landon said, "She fled town." Silas stood. "Where did she go?" he asked. "We don't know," Sabrina said, "She's just gone." "Why are you here then?" the Sheriff prodded, "If you knew she was gone." Landon crossed his arms. "Sheriff, we're here because Ophelia asked us to look into something for her." "Why are you here?" Sabrina asked, "Is everything okay?" Silas cocked his head. "You know damn well it's not okay. Anyway, there's been another kill." "Shit," Austin said, "Is it someone we know?" Silas sucked in his cheeks, livid. "Atticus Kelly was murdered in his cell last night. Poisoned." Sabrina exhaled next to Landon. She grabbed at her chest. "Oh my God," she said. "But..." Landon said, trying to formulate his thoughts, "Please tell me you have leads." "We do," Silas said, "A security guard glimpsed the attacker. A forensic artist is sketching a raw image." "Great!" Austin said, "I hope he's a good artist." "I hope for a lot of things," Silas said, "But many of those wishes will never be answered." Silence filled the room. It was punctured by Silas' phone ringing. "Excuse me," he said and exited the shop. SHERIFF'S HOUSE The security guard who had witnessed Atticus Kelly's killer finished his description. He had tried to be as accurate as possible. The forensic artist was very polite and cordial. He sincerely wanted the Killer to be caught. As did everyone. "Done," the artist said. He set down his pencil and turned his sketch around. The guard's eyes widened. "Oh," he said. The artist looked at his work. "What?" "I recognize..." the guard stammered. He exhaled. "It can't be..." The artist asked for the name. Then, he called the Sheriff. OPHELIA'S OFFICE Landon and Sabrina sent Austin to the cafe across the street to get coffee. They wanted a few minutes alone to search Katherine's history. Sabrina sat in Ophelia's chair and ran a search history on 'Katherine Devereaux.' There was a long string of results. "Well, look at that," Sabrina said, pointing to the first result, "Katherine is a former Torrance resident." "So?" Landon said, "Christie went to Torrance twice. She saw a murder in Torrance. What is so special about Torrance?" Sabrina opened a new search and read aloud. "Torrance, Arizona, is a town within Maricopa county in southern Arizona. It is infamously known for the unsolved Torrance killings in 2005." "Torrance killings?" Landon said, "Never heard of them." "It was hushed up by the FBI when witnesses started to disappear." "Shit," Landon said. Sabrina opened a web page on the killings. "37 confirmed deaths in 2005 by one killer. Case still open. No suspects apprehended." Landon tried to make sense of everything. "I don't get it," he said, "What does Torrance have to do with Sawyer Gulch?" "Torrance is only 30 miles away," Sabrina said, "the Killer could have fled here in 2005." "Or recently," Landon said gravely, thinking of Katherine. Sabrina turned to look at Landon. "Didn't Father Kelly tell you to tell the Sheriff about Torrance?" Landon slapped a hand to his forehead. "He did! He even said he wouldn't make his trial because...oh ew." Sabrina cracked her knuckles. "So Father Kelly is related to the killings as well. Maybe he is their killer." "Or," Landon said, "He might have been paid for his killings. You know, like a dead pool." Sabrina found e-mails from Father Kelly saved on Ophelia's hard drive. "Well," she said, reading them, "There aren't any monetary transactions going in through the Church or Kelly's bank account. But instead..." She pointed. "Death threats. Dozens of them. One every month. For years." Landon gasped. "They're instructions. Look at that one. Kill Dr. Linda Hartigan or else. Remember...the Alamo?!" "Cryptic," Sabrina said. She searched a link between "Alamo" and "Torrance." A picture of a priest emerged. "Reverend Darrian Alamo. 15th casualty of the Torrance killings." "Gross," Landon said. Sabrina snapped her fingers. "Landon! I think I understand now! Remember what Christie said in her letter? She witnessed the Skai Desmond murder! Father Kelly might have witnessed the Alamo murder! The Killer has been eliminating the witnesses by having other witnesses kill them!" Landon blinked. "Don't follow," he muttered. "Think about it," Sabrina said, "You kill someone and then you kill the witnesses. But then you have more witnesses. Well, you can't go about killing everyone, so you instead have the new witnesses kill old witnesses." "If you say witnesses one more time..." Landon murmured. Sabrina spun around in the chair, smiling. She ran a search on Alice, Dr. Hartigan, and Father Kelly. All of them were former residents of Torrance in 2005. "So," Sabrina said, tapping the desk, "Father Kelly saw Alamo's murder. He was tasked with killing past and future witnesses. He killed about thirteen, including Hartigan. Hartigan might have witnessed a murder in Torrance as well. I'm guessing those that refused to help the Killer were the ones that were targeted." "And Christie?" Landon said, "What about Christie?" "Christie saw Skai Desmond and refused to kill Father Kelly and Alice, so she was bumped off." There was a thud under the desk. Landon and Sabrina shared a glance before bending down to look. Bryce was hiding under the desk. "What the hell, Bryce!" Landon cried. Sabrina grabbed Bryce's collar and dragged him out. "Who hides under a desk?" Landon continued. "You're talking about Christie," Bryce said, "I knew something was wrong with Christie. I knew it. I..." "Read this," Sabrina said, handing Bryce the letter Christie wrote for him. Bryce read it over and began crying. "You said..." Bryce said between sobs, "That Christie witnessed the Skai Desmond murder." "Well, she said she did," Landon said, indicating the letter. "What do you think?" Sabrina interrupted, taking Landon's arm, "What do we tell the Sheriff?" "Everything we found," Landon said, "Both Cecil and Silas." "And," Sabrina said, "What about Katherine?" Landon bit his lip. "Arrest her, I say. Question her." "Let's go," Bryce said, pulling Landon toward the door. "Bryce," Sabrina said, "keep Austin away from the Sheriff's house until Katherine is questioned." Bryce and Landon marched into the Square. Sabrina sat down to log off the computer. A beeping red dot in the corner of the screen distracted her. She clicked on it. A camera feed filled the screen. It was of the Church of St. John Paul II. Father Kelly was speaking to Austin. Sabrina turned on the volume. "You shouldn't be here..." Kelly said, backing toward the altar. "You're the Killer," Austin said. He began accusing the Father, who looked more surprised than he did terrified. "You killed Jet Sterling...on Festival Day!" Austin cried. Father Kelly glanced directly at the camera. Sabrina stopped the footage and stared off. Festival Day. Sabrina dug in her purse for her SD cards. She found the one for 2012: three years ago. She uploaded the pictures to Ophelia's computer. Hundreds of photos littered the screen. Sabrina scrolled through them to Festival Day: September 22. She found the picture she was looking for. The one of the gathered crowd in the Square. And the glint in the middle of the crowd. A pendant around someone's neck. Silver. She kept scrolling. She found the one the newspapers dubbed 'The Ghost in the Window.' A figure in the Sterling household wearing a pendant. But the figure was not one of a woman. It was a man. She leaned forward to look at the face. Sabrina opened her search history again and plugged in a name. Her eyes went wide. "Oh shit," she whispered. She found a scrap of paper and scribbled a name, tacking it to the computer screen. She ran for the door. Fumbling with the doorknob, hands trembling, she burst out of the shop and bolted into the Square. SHERIFF'S HOUSE Sabrina threw open the Sheriff's door. She darted into the living room. She spiraled around the house, screaming for the Sheriff. "SILAS! CECIL! SILAS!" She heard a stifled scream in the office. She grabbed the sliding doors and threw them apart. "SILAS!" The forensic artist was dead before her. A security guard was at the opposite end of the room, mouth open in terror. A knife was to his throat. With a swift motion, his throat was slit. The Killer looked up. It wasn't Katherine. It wasn't a woman. It was a man, dressed in a suit. Sabrina felt her voice go silent. Her knees buckled. The Killer met her gaze. It was Austin. Austin grinned wickedly and pulled the bloody knife away from the guard, who fell flat. "Run," Austin said. Sabrina screamed until her voice gave out. Production Continuity and Story Arcs Father Kelly was murdered in his cell the night previous, making him the fourth main/recurring character to die in the past few episodes. A forensic artist drew a sketch of the Killer witnessed by a security guard in the Father's prison. Both were murdered by the Killer. Sabrina's searching on Ophelia's computer revealed that Katherine, Dr. Hartigan, Alice, and Father Kelly were all residents of Torrance in 2005, the site of the infamous unsolved Torrance killings. Further analysis explained that the Killer has been organizing the deaths of his witnesses by having past witnesses kill future witnesses or else die themselves. Father Kelly, Christie, and Alice were all instructed to kill people. Christie and Alice refused, explaining why they died. This also explains why Isobel died, as she witnessed the death of her son. Festival Day, first mentioned in "Cardiff," ultimately provided the last key Sabrina needed to determine through archived photos that Katherine is not the Killer. The Killer was finally revealed to be Austin. References When Austin asked if the newly murdered person was "someone they know," it is a reference to Broadchurch. Trivia *Austin was known to be the Killer since the start of the season. His kidnapping (which makes no sense as of the airing of this episode), is to be explained in the finale. *This is the second time the main antagonist's identity was revealed in the penultimate episode, after "The Catalyst" in ''Renaissance. '' Category:Episodes Category:Insinuation Episodes